Short on tons and the crew stops mid-pull waiting on one more truck, with a cold joint where it restarts. Long on tons and you're paying for mix that goes back to the plant or into a pile in the yard. Check the number before you call in the order.
Enter the area in square feet and the compacted depth in inches.
The formula
Tons = square feet × (depth in inches ÷ 12) × 145 ÷ 2,000
- Dividing the depth by 12 turns inches into feet, so area times depth gives cubic feet.
- 145 is the pounds per cubic foot of compacted dense-graded hot mix, a common planning figure. The calculator uses 145.
- Dividing by 2,000 turns pounds into short tons.
A worked example: a 10,000 sq ft lot at 2 inches compacted.
- 10,000 × (2 ÷ 12) = 1,667 cubic feet
- 1,667 × 145 = 241,667 pounds
- 241,667 ÷ 2,000 = about 121 tons
A quick shortcut that falls out of the same math: each inch of compacted depth is about 0.06 tons per square foot, or 60 tons per 10,000 sq ft. Half an inch more on that lot is about 30 more tons.
When 145 isn't your number
Your plant's mix design sheet lists the density for the mix you're buying. Coarse base mixes, stone matrix mixes and mixes with heavy aggregate can run heavier. Some lightweight-aggregate mixes run lighter.
The calculator is fixed at 145, so adjust by hand: multiply its answer by your density and divide by 145. At 150 lb/ft³, that 121-ton lot is 121 × 150 ÷ 145, or about 125 tons.
Use compacted depth, not loose depth. The screed lays the mat thicker than it ends up, and the roller takes it down. The spec and your proposal are in compacted inches, so the tons are too.
Waste, taper and the base
The formula gives you the tons in a perfect mat on a perfect grade. Real lots take more:
- Waste and handling: mix left in truck beds, hand work around drains, curb lines and islands, and the end of the last load.
- Grade you didn't see: low spots in the base take more than the design depth. Check the base with a string line or a level before you trust the depth on paper.
- Tapers and tie-ins where new asphalt meets a street, a garage slab or an existing lot.
Set your allowance from your own jobs. Compare the tons you ordered with the plant tickets after the next few jobs, and you'll know your number for a clean rectangle and for a lot full of islands.
Before you call the plant
Have these ready:
- Tons, with your allowance added
- The mix, by the plant's name for it
- Start time and how many tons an hour the crew can lay
- How many trucks, and who's running them
Plan trucks so the paver never waits and mix never sits. That depends on transport time, how fast the crew lays, and what each truck carries legally in your state, so ask your trucking subs what their trucks carry. The mix design sheet or the plant will give you the temperature range the mix needs to be laid and rolled in.
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- Asphalt vs. concrete driveways: walking a homeowner through the cost
Pavr is estimating and job software for paving, sealcoating, striping and concrete contractors. Measure the lot on the satellite view and price the job with your plant price per ton. Try it free →